Thanks! It’s good to hear that the lessons blended naturally with the gameplay. It could very easily have slipped into the dark realms of... edu-tainment *shudders*!

Thank you for playing, and for the feedback — I completely understand what you mean.

I think the choke point near the end is where most of the frustration came from. That was intentional, as I wanted the final stretch to feel overwhelming enough that grounding becomes a lifeline rather than something that solves everything.

That said, it also shouldn't feel impossible, and I think there are probably one or two moments that could use a little more breathing room.

Thanks for the kind words and feedback!

I think you hit the nail on the head at the end there - I’d have to be careful about adding too much difficulty, as a greater challenge could make the experience more tense, but it runs a risk of over-gamifying things; pushing it away from being a simulator.

That said, an anxiety attack shouldn't be a walk in the part so perhaps there was still room to increase the challenge slightly without losing the game’s identity... hmmm, something for me to think on. Thanks again!

Thanks for playing!

Thanks, 'disruptive' was definitely my aim. I didn't want the grounding to feel like it was this magical, wish granting device that would protect and make everything better, I wanted it to be a tool to support that can be used right and also used wrong.  Having it be a clean solution wouldn't feel true to the experience.

The silhouettes of the people appearing when you get too close was a super last minute addition but I felt it needed something to close the distance the player has with the character. It's always the little details that you don't expect to add too much that end up making the biggest differnece!

'inescapable', yes, that's exactly the feeling I was going for! Regarding the movement, I actually removed a feature which slows and speeds up time because, honestly, it just felt like a bug that was causing lag rather than an intended mechanic. I'm glad sticking with a constant somewhat high speed still managed to convey that sense of acceleration without it. Thanks for playing.

I tried to make a very literal choke point, where you can't quite catch your breathe right at the end. It was a very marmite addition but glad to hear you fall on the side favoring it :)

It was very much an inspiration. Honored to have any comparison to Celeste. Thank you.

I can't help but add a little humor into things. The newpapers guys were supposed to be bikes but once I got the idea in my head i had to change it. 

If I had more time, I could have added customizable umbrellas for those who want to up the silliness - like make the umbrella one of those that has a big cat face and cat ears on it!

...Maybe it's good that I have a limited time, it forces me to limit nonsense too

That’s amazing. I actually added a few things that you might notice across multiple playthroughs — like people making slightly different noises when they get close, moving in ways they didn’t before, and some of the umbrella patterns facing the opposite direction.

It’s not much, but I wanted to create a feeling of unease that you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s a bit like P.T., where the ghost is positioned behind the player at all times. You’d never see it or even know it was there unless you used noclip, but I find the idea that something you can’t consciously experience can still give you goosebumps really interesting.

I also made the introduction skippable on a second playthrough for convenience.

Really glad people are playing it enough to notice those changes!

Thanks for checking it out and for the kind words!